Three Soldiers
by howard2037
Summary: An event that nearly causes the fourth shinobi war is narrowly avoided, but consequences are still there. Naruto, along with Sasuke Uchiha, and Kamori Senju have been trained as warriors from a young age, and are now being recognized as chuunin. Each armed with one of Konoha's famed bloodlines, they aim to make a name for themselves in this world, or die trying. AU


**Hey! This is the pilot chapter of my second attempt at a story! I've put my first story, "Brothers of the Sword and Shield" on hiatus. Mainly because I hate how I started it, and I made Naruto way to powerful in the beginning, so that's why I'm doing this story! To try again!**

**I want to make a few things clear before I start. This fic is going to be AU, so some changes to the plot WILL happen. If you read something that you know isn't right, it isn't because I got it wrong, I just changed it. The one Significant difference is that Minato sealed the ENTIRE kyubi into Naruto, not just half. the rest of the changes will be explained as you read along. If the first chapter raises any questions about Naruto, they will be answered in the second chapter.**

* * *

><p>Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk like any other day, shuffling through papers, and stamping important ones. Life in Konoha had been fairly relaxed for the past nine years, ever since the kyuubi had been sealed. There was one minor disturbance when accusations against one of the Sannin came to light. Evidence was found that suggested that Orochimaru was performing inhumane experiments on Konoha children, so an investigation began. Fortunately for the leaf, the investigation had proven Orochimaru innocent. One of his underlings in the Research and Development Division wanted to climb the ranks, so he tried to frame the Sannin. Too bad for that ninja, he was executed for treason.<p>

Yes, the village hidden in the leaves had enjoyed a very prosperous few years. That is, until an exhausted chuunin burst through the door to the Hokage's office with a face that clearly said 'bad news'.

The shinobi took a moment to catch his breath before he looked up into the questioning face of his leader. "Hokage-sama! An urgent message from Suna!" The chuunin held out a small scroll that would have fit in the leg holster of a messenger hawk.

The older man grabbed the message and immediately started scanning through it. After a few minutes of reading, he dismissed the chuunin. Once the man had left, he called out to his ANBU. "Bring me Kakashi. I have a mission for him. And do it quick."

The man he asked for was known around the world for his mastery of the Uchiha doujutsu, the Sharingan. He wasn't an Uchiha by blood, but he received it after he lost both his original eyes in the Third Shinobi War. One of his teammates gave Kakashi his recently activated sharingan before he was killed. Kakashi wielded those eyes as good as any Uchiha, Hiruzen had ever seen. He was even able to activate and deactivate them on command, unlike most transplanted doujutsu.

He only had to wait for a few minutes before Kakashi appeared in front of him. "Ah, Kakashi! Here on time I see."

The ex-ANBU captain in front of him gave him a dead-panned stare. "Yes, those ANBU forcing me to come didn't have anything to do with it."

The Hokage chuckled a few times, before he got serious. "Kakashi, we have a situation. Yesterday at 3:00 am, one of Suna's northern border outposts was destroyed, over a dozen shinobi killed. Suna blames Iwa, due to the remains of several large scale earth Jutsu that were responsible for the destruction of the base, as well as a discarded Iwa headband. Iwa denies any accusations."

Looking underneath the underneath, like he likes to preach about, Kakashi realized where this was going. "You think otherwise."

Hiruzen nodded. "That's right. As you know, something like this is a blatant declaration of war, and Suna won't back down when they were wronged. This could be the start of the fourth Great Shinobi War." Leaning forward, Sarutobi looked into Kakashi's eyes, his expression shoeing just how dead serious he was. "I want you to prevent that."

"That's a tall order. What do you need me to do?" The copy ninja may be well respected and powerful, but he was only one man. Surely he couldn't be expected to change the fate of the world with no plan, right?

"I've known Onoki for a very long time. To deny his handiwork isn't like him. I want you to prove that this job wasn't done by Iwa."

Kakashi's face didn't give anything away as he listened to his Kage. "Do you have a lead for me to work with?"

Frustrated with the answer of Kakashi's question, Hiruzen gritted his teeth and shook his head. "We've got nothing solid. Only rumours of missing-nin activity in the area. That's part of the reason I called you specifically. If you engage the enemy, your lightning affinity should be able neutralize him and his doton techniques efficiently."

Nodding his head in understanding, Kakashi mentally prepared for his mission. He hadn't been given too much to work with, so he would have to work fast. "Understood. What will you do in the meantime incase of my failure?"

The Sandaime sighed heavily. He didn't like it, but even for someone like Kakashi, there was always the chance of failure. "I'm putting wartime measures into place. We will start to militarize, but I hope it won't be necessary." Taking another long drag on his pipe, the old man took the stock of wood out from between his lips and stashed it away.

The copy ninja raised an eyebrow. "What about the minimum graduating age?"

Hiruzen shook his head. "No. It will stay in place until I have no other option. But now isn't the time to be worrying about that. I would guess that you have about three months before heavy fighting breaks out. The villages will take that time to prepare and test out the strength of their opponents. Bring me results Kakashi. You are dismissed."

The copy ninja nodded briskly and left immediately. Hiruzen turned and looked out his window at the beautiful village of Konohagakure. The sky had clouded up, and the first few drops of rain were beginning to fall, almost like the heavens were weeping at the possibility of war.

Resting his forehead in his hand, the man called 'The Professor' bowed his head, and prayed to God that war wouldn't come.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Suna<span>**

In the Kazekage's office, an auburn haired man faced his three children and his brother-in-law. He stared at them, seemingly struggling with himself, until he finally broke the silence. "I called you three here to tell you something." The children looked up at their father eagerly, waiting for what he had to say. "I have decided that you three shall become shinobi. Yashamaru will be your sensei. You will start missions immediately."

The two oldest kids looked at each other and smiled widely, while the youngest just stared ahead blankly. They were too young to wonder why their father had suddenly came up with this idea, but they were happy to be ninja none the less. The Kazekage looked at them, and for a moment, Yashamaru could have sworn that he saw a ghost of a smile cross the man's face.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Konoha<strong>

In a dark room in the Hokage tower, two young boys and one girl were sitting on the lone bench in the room, waiting. They had all been told to meet here, although none of them knew why.

Soon, the door opened, and a man stepped into the room. From the looks of him, he was a Jounin, in his mid-forties, and had a pale face, with long black hair running down his back. He gave the three of them an appraising stare with his golden eyes. "Before I say anything, I will tell you that anything said in this room today is classified by the highest authority, and is not to be spoken of in any circumstance, unless otherwise directed by the Hokage. You three have been called here today to serve you village in a way that only you can." He paused only for a moment to judge the responses of the children in front of him. All of them looked intrigued, even the dark haired one that seemed to always be brooding. "Konoha is at risk of war. To prevail, we need powerful soldiers to defend their village. That is where you three come in. Each of you has potential to be powerful. Each of you has one of Konoha's prized kekkai genkai. You three have been chosen to be soldiers of Konoha. But that is all you are. You are not Konoha shinobi. You are not adults of this village. You are soldiers, and nothing more. Is that clear?"

The three children widened their eyes in fear at the man in front of him. The full weight of his words crashing down on them. They were being offered power, and a chance to serve their village. But they would get no recognition in return. For different reasons, all three ended up nodding to the man.

He smiled widely. "In that case, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Kamori Senju. I hereby declare you soldiers of Konoha."

* * *

><p><span><strong>Four years later<strong>

Two boys and one girl walked toward the Konohagakure Shinobi Registry office, on the day of the division assignments. Their clothes looked like something a civilian would wear, besides the chūnin flak jackets, but the aura around them gave off a feeling of combat experience, despite the fact that none of them wore headbands.

The girl on the left of the trio had long, curly brown hair, held back and flipped up into a bun. Her eyes were a bright emerald green, matching her long-sleeved shirt's colour. Her shirt was skin tight and had a high neck, not showing the slightest bit of cleavage of her DD-cup breasts, but if she ever unzipped that chūnin jacket, it was tight enough to let everyone know that she had some massive tits. She wore dark brown cargo pants that hugged her curves and and tucked into a pair of lightweight boots. Around her neck, a fine golden chain held a golden pendant. On the pendant was a large emerald in a shape that looked like a cross between a two ended trident, and a varja.

On the right side walked a boy that was roughly five inches taller than the girl he was with, and had long black hair that reached the base of his neck and hung down to cover his equally black left eye, leaving his right one to observe the world. He wore a blood-red long-sleeved shirt, with jet black cargo pants. He also wore a Konoha flak jacket, showing that he was a chūnin. Around his neck was a matching pendant, but with a ruby in the shape of a fan.

And finally, in the middle of the trio was a boy with spiky blond hair, a bright orange long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of ocean blue cargo pants, matching his two friends with the style of his clothes. Just like his companions, he wore a green flak jacket over his orange shirt. His eyes were a dull, pupil-less white colour. He, like his companions, had a golden pendant, but the jewel was a stunning sapphire in the shape of a spiral with a white diamond dotting the eye of the swirl.

They paused for a moment, looking at each other, before they walked forward into the building. It had been three years since the One Year War had ended, but there had not been rest for Konoha's three secret soldiers. While they weren't official Konoha shinobi, they still fought, were still assigned missions, and still made a name for themselves. Thanks to the work of Kakashi the Copy nin, the war ended shortly after it started, unlike the three Great Shinobi Wars. But even in that short time, Naruto and his two teammates had learned a lot.

The chief reason they were used through the war was so that Konoha could deny any involvement in the missions they were a part of, but with the war over, that didn't matter any more. Through all that, they never got any recognition. Until now.

By order of the Hokage, they would officially start their shinobi careers as chūnin of Konohagakure as recognition for their service during the war, and afterwards. Now they were on their way to sign up for their permanent assignment.

The registry office was an unassuming building, two stories high and made of thick wooden beams. Pushing open the heavy wooden doors, Naruto strolled in, followed by Sasuke and Kamori. He quickly checked the piece of paper in his hand that told him which room to go to, and nodded to himself. Taking a left down the hallway, he entered the second door on his right and entered a large room full of roughly three hundred chūnin sitting at the tables put out for them, waiting for the man standing behind the podium at the far side of the room to talk. The three fresh chūnin barely had enough time to sit down at an empty table before he addressed the crowd. The man speaking was none other than konoha's joūnin commander, Shikaku Nara. The man looked out over the crowd of chūnin before he started his speech. The room fell silent once the occupants realized that the ceremony was beginning.

"Thank you all for gathering here today. You all know why you're here. But for those of you who have been living under a rock, I'll fill you in anyways." The crowd chuckled quietly at the Nara's joke.

"Once every year, konoha's rank-and-file chūnin are given the chance to apply for a position in one of the eight, more specialized branches of the ninja corps. As you all know, most of the ninja in the village are assigned missions at the mission assignment desk, they complete the mission, and then are assigned another mission. Things don't work the same way in any of the eight divisions. You report directly to your superior for your assignment, and rarely do generic "missions". Instead, you fulfill your duty to your division."

Shikaku paused to make sure everyone was following his line of thought. Of course, everyone in the room knew everything he was saying, but it was still good to remind them of what they were getting into.

"The eight divisions are as follows. The Home Garrison; The division that is responsible for the protection of konoha itself from any external threat. It is them who patrol our wall, as well as monitor the sensory barrier around our village.

"The Military Police Force; The shinobi in charge of keeping the peace inside these walls, as well as solving domestic disputes or threats.

"The Medical Corps; These ninja are ones that keep us going. In case of a medical emergency, the Medical Corps are the first people to hear about and the first medics that any one of you will see if a mission goes wrong. Their focus isn't on combat, although they must be prepared for it to retrieve shinobi on the front lines.

"The Torture and Interrogation Unit; If a foreign spy, or even a domestic enemy is captured, the folks at T&I are the ones who will make the spill their guts, in more ways than one.

"The Research and Development Division; The brain boxes that make sure we have an edge by thinking of new weapons and technologies.

"The National Law Enforcement; Ninja stationed across the land of fire, assisting the local authorities keep the peace, as well as preventing crime.

"The Border Patrol; The guys and girls that make sure that external threats stay external. They are the ones that watch the borders of Hi no kuni, making sure that we don't have any unwanted visitors on our soil.

"And last but not least, The Espionage Legion; Our eyes and ears in other countries. These people keep us up to date on the comings and goings of our counterparts around the elemental nations.

At this point in the speech the crowd had broken into excited murmuring. They all knew what came next. Shikaku gave a small smirk seeing all of the energy in the room. Signalling a kunoichi behind him, eight large boards were unveiled behind him.

"You have each submitted an application to one of the divisions. Behind me are the lists of names that have been accepted into each division. If your name isn't up there, then you are free to leave and try again next time. If it is, then stay here until everyone else has left the room."

Right away people started crowding around the eight lists, trying to get a glimpse of their name. Naruto Kamori and Sasuke simply stayed seated.

Kamori turned in her seat to give Naruto a curious look. "Well Naruto? What do they say?"

Said blond focused for a moment before veins bulged out of the sides of his head. After a moment, his veins shrank back to their regular size and Naruto turned to Kamori.

"There's good news and bad news."

She motioned for him to continue with an anxious look on her face.

Naruto chuckled at her worried expression before he gave her a comforting smile. "Don't worry. You got accepted into the Home Garrison."

Leaping out of her seat, she screamed in excitement and pulled Naruto into a tight hug. After holding each other for a few moments, Sasuke interrupted with a small smile. "Not to ruin the moment, but did I get accepted?"

The other two separated and Naruto gave Sasuke a stony look. "Sasuke."

Getting inpatient, Sasuke waved him on.

Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath, like he was about to deliver bad news. "Congratulations for joining the Military Police Force."

It took a moment for Sasuke to process what he heard, but soon enough a pleased smirk spread across his face. "Hn."

His two friends laughed at his Uchiha style response. Looking at the last member of the trio, Kamori asked Naruto, "Well?"

"Well what?"

She rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant! Did you get accepted? You said there was bad news!"

Naruto chuckled and then nodded. "Yeah, I got accepted. I'll be making a name for myself in the Border patrol from now on."

Kamori pulled him into a tight hug while Sasuke simply voiced his congratulations. A few moments later, Kamori pulled out of the hug and gave Naruto a troubled look. "Well if we all got accepted, then what's the bad news?"

A sad smile showed on Naruto's face, but before he could say anything, Sasuke spoke up. "He means that this is the end of our team."

The other two occupants of the table gave him their attention, so Sasuke continued. "With all of us being given different assignments, we won't work together near as often anymore."

They all shared that moment of melancholy, but they shook out of it when Shikaku noted that all of the rejected applicants had left and started talking again. There were only about forty people left in the room.

"Congratulations to all of you. The people behind me will each call the accepted applicants of each of the divisions. Go to the one calling for your new division. They'll tell you what to do next."

The three teens stood and without any words said between them, headed to their respective groups.

Naruto took a moment to size up his new senior. The man was a tall lean man, and one look at his eyes gave away that he was a Hyuga. Besides Naruto, there were four people accepted into the Patrol. The Hyuga gave them all a once over before he talked.

"I'm going to cut straight to the chase. I have each of your new assignments in these scrolls. They also come with authorization for modifications to the basic chuunin equipment. Bring it to the Konoha armoury to customize it to your liking. Take your scrolls and read them, they'll tell you about your assignment."

Everyone grabbed their scroll, some reading them on the spot, others, Including Naruto walked away and regrouped with their friends. Both Kamori and Sasuke were told to report to their division headquarters for assignment, so Naruto went off by himself onto a rooftop to read his scroll in peace. The contents in this scroll would change his life, so he wanted to make sure that he could focus solely on it. Taking a deep breath, he reached towards the scroll and unfurled it.


End file.
